What ridiculously difficult licks are you working on?

[tubatom91]

Dvorak- New world symphony- Finale
there is an eight bar line that is in triplets it goes D-F-A-D-F-A-D-F-A.........and playing at a fast(er) tempo is proving to be quite a challenge. I'm not a pro player and neither are the 2 other guys I play with. It's the only line in the piece that is giving us grief. (All 3 of us playing on Yamaha YBB-321 BBb horns). (Those horns are school owned, in 'used' condition).

[Casey Tucker]

Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

I'm working the piece up for auditions. lots of range, interval and (most of all) interpretation issues I'm working through (especially the second excerpt as quoted by Mr. Pokorny "...the sardonic laughter of the executioner...").

Casey "who's also working up the optional high Bb" Tucker

[adam0408]

Respighi, Fountains of Rome.

I don't think more difficult licks exist in the tuba rep. (opinion, of course, lest I be flamed to death.)

[MileMarkerZero]

The end of the band arrangement of Ives' "Variations on America" ain't a cakewalk...

Working on a BQ arrangement of Toccatta & Fugue in dm. How does Dallenbach do it?

[Mr.T439]

I've been working on these pieces. They all have hard licks.

Piccolo Suite-Dubois
Intermezzo-Bitsch
Concertino-Koetsier

[Kory101]

I've also been working on Symphonie Fantastique. The hardest lick that I am finding is the last Few bars.

I have the high Bb but not sure if I'll use it for my auditions.

[Quicksilvertuba]

Respighi, Fountains of Rome.

Me 2. not to mention, The Ride, cello suite #1...

[JTJ]

4th Movement, Ellerby Euphonium Concerto.

The entire movement qualifies.

John

[Chuck Jackson]

Beethoven 6 and the Bruch G minor Violin Concerto.


Chuck"Captain Obvious"Jackson

[tubacdk]

That guy is marked at quarter note = 184 It don't see how that's even humanly possible for anyone to play where written (at least on an F). The optional 8va makes it at least plausible.

is the 8va definitely optional? could it have been written in the staff and marked 8va for easier reading?

[gregsundt]

Holst Planets: Tenor Tuba. Great stuff, but Uranus is eating my proverbial lunch.

Staigers Carnival of Venice. Also for euph. Every time I think I'm getting it, I remember Ron Romm and the Canadian Brass. Then it's back to the woodshed.

[The Jackson]

Grundman's Tuba Rhapsody

It's pretty linear for the most part, but there are some weird sections. Mostly with the funky intervals and chromatics.


Not to mention the septuplet that I bologna sandwich every time...

[tubatom91]

the basson/double bass cues in molly on the sore at the beginning, upper octave is pretty decent, but lower? oh man is that a doozy (i guess that's why having the right instrumentation is a good thing)

we played that for our first concert this year...I never could quite get it down .

[greatk82]

[Dean E]

That guy is marked at quarter note = 184 It don't see how that's even humanly possible for anyone to play where written (at least on an F). The optional 8va makes it at least plausible.

is the 8va definitely optional? could it have been written in the staff and marked 8va for easier reading?

Well, we're assuming it's optional. The original tuba part is lost, so I had been playing from the score until I just put it in Finale the other day (hence the post about my aggravation).

The only clue we have is that there are two measures in the first movement where the trumpet has "optional 8vb" written above some middle Cs. The dashed markings are similar, so we figured my part is "optional 8va." There aren't any other licks like that in the piece though, so we're still not totally sure.

Basically, I'll be playing it up there so we can actually play the rest of the movement at a decent tempo. I don't think any amount of practice will get those two bars up to quarter ~ 150+ in any amount of time less than five years.

You mentioned the "Optional 8vb" [above or below?] the trumpet part.

I assume there is some confusion concerning "8vb."

8vb, according to "Essential Dictionary of Music Notation," (p. 214), Tom Gerow (1996) "is only a copyist's shorthand and should not be used in engraved music."

On the same page, Gerow writes: "8va bassa or ottava bassa means 'at the octave below.'"

"8va bassa is is indicated below a bass clef staff only. Do not use for treble, alto, or tenor clefs."

[USTuba08]

Blazevich #2, nearly impossible to match the articulation for every note.

[WakinAZ]

Dvorak- New world symphony- Finale
there is an eight bar line that is in triplets it goes D-F-A-D-F-A-D-F-A.........and playing at a fast(er) tempo is proving to be quite a challenge. I'm not a pro player and neither are the 2 other guys I play with. It's the only line in the piece that is giving us grief. (All 3 of us playing on Yamaha YBB-321 BBb horns). (Those horns are school owned, in 'used' condition).

I feel your pain, just played this. Discretion is the better part of valor. The trick here is to have the two weaker players hold a sustained D or just play the first note of the triplet and just let one player do all the notes so it is clean. One player doing this cleanly will be just as loud as three horns worth of mud. Not that hard, just hard for the average tubist **raises hand** to play cleanly: it's an endurance event. The problem is that this is the string bass part (I think)in the original orchestral version and easier to bow than to blow.

Eric

[jeopardymaster]

I learned a similar trick playing the Dvorak in our regional honor band. We had 5 decent players. 1 played the first note of each triplet. 2 played just the first and third notes. And I and another guy alternated groups of 4. It was a little like jumping on a moving train at first, but eventually we got the hang of it. Sounded fantastic on the recording.

With just 3, I'd have the weakest one play the first note, the best one play the first and second notes, and the middle guy play 1 and 3.

That is the nice thing about playing in a concert band, especially if you have more than 1 solid player. Most of those nasty transcription licks can be broken down into manageable elements. One particularly nasty one is an arrangement of Nicolai's overture "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Lots of land mines. But with multiple players and some careful planning, the section can sound like a million bucks.

[MartyNeilan]

That is the nice thing about playing in a concert band, especially if you have more than 1 solid player. Most of those nasty transcription licks can be broken down into manageable elements. One particularly nasty one is an arrangement of Nicolai's overture "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Lots of land mines. But with multiple players and some careful planning, the section can sound like a million bucks.

Sounds like you had a good section
One of the biggest problems I have seen with low brass players (of all instruments) is that when faced with never-ending notes some will try to play every note at all costs, either due to ego or ignorance. When they have to take a breath every few measures, the next note is always blatantly late and makes the section sound muddy. The "ignorant" players can be taught to drop notes and rotate parts; the egotistical players are usually a lost cause, because they "played all the notes while you had to miss some."

[Mike Finn]

One of the biggest problems I have seen with low brass players (of all instruments) is that when faced with never-ending notes some will try to play every note at all costs...

I'd like to see them try that with this!



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